As the beginning of the school year quickly approaches, I am attempting to look beyond “projects” and “initiatives” I would like to implement this year and really write some overall goals for myself. I hope in writing them down, I feel more accountable than I do with “resolutions,” of which I have given up even wasting my time.
I think of my school year goals in four separate pieces: as a learner, as a math lead learner in my district, in my classroom practice, and sustaining my mental well-being, all important in improving my practice as an educator.
As a learner, my goal this year is to really push myself outside of my elementary K-5 math realm and take a deeper look at the connections with the math instruction in the middle/high school. I am extremely curious to dig into big ideas such as equivalence and decomposition that are evident in all of the math work we do K-5, and really see how those foundations are built upon in the secondary grades. I have begun a lot of that work through Twitter and my state level PD I am involved in, but I would like to push myself to do more.
As a district math lead learner, I aim to do some collaborative work with a couple middle school teachers to see Number Talks (or some form of math routine) being used in their classrooms. I also would love to see our professional development running a little differently, thinking a bit outside of the box. ISTE 2014 set an amazing example of using IGNITEs, Playgrounds, and Twitter/Google Hangouts for PD that is differentiated for all teachers and meets everyone’s needs. This year, I want to organize a small piece of this for our teachers.
In my classroom practice, I always have many goals! First, is organization! I think we all know the school year starts completely organized…materials are all in a designated place in the classroom, lesson plans are written neatly, papers are given feedback and returned in a timely manner, and office paper work is turned in on time. Then, the year gets going and it is just about keeping my head above water! Although I am sure this will continue to be the case this year, I aim to prioritize and use my time more wisely during the school day.
Secondly in my classroom practice, I want to improve on giving feedback on student assignments. Not grades, true written, focused feedback. Again, this is about prioritizing school obligations and making the time.
For my own mental well-being, running continues to be a necessity in my life! After the whirlwind that is the school day, I always need to clear my head! I have been so motivated this year by our #500in2014 Twitter running group, that I am averaging 100 miles/month and on pace to reach 1200 before January 1st. That is so exciting and something that is a continuing goal throughout the year!
Let the countdown to the school year begin!
-Kristin
MathMinds 
Kristin, your goals are so similar to mine. I look forward to reading your posts throughout the year as I work on similar goals. I’ve written quite a few posts about math in the recent past too. Thanks for sharing.
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I love how you included goals for yourself as a learner! Don’t see this much, we often focus on goals for ourselves as educators, to the exclusion of ourselves as the learner–great job!
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As a high school educator, I love to see your connection to the secondary level. Not only will it give you clarity about the foundation you are building, it will help secondary math educators to understand how their students are prepared. Congrats on writing goals that are achievable, even while they will stretch you. Can’t wait to see where your new collaboration leads!
Jennifer
#compelledtribe
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Well done! I agree with Traci about the goals for yourself as a learner. It’s important that we constantly challenge ourselves to grow as well. I’m going to try for more intentional feedback using google docs this year. Excited to see how it looks for both of us!
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Well done! I agree with Traci about the goals for yourself as a learner. It’s important that we constantly challenge ourselves to grow as well. I’m going to try for more intentional feedback using google docs this year. Excited to see how it looks for both of us!
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Kristin, I enjoyed reading about your goals and can tell that you have a growth mindset. I am looking forward to reading future posts!
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Kristin, I love how you are tying to understand where your students math learning goes after they leave your classroom! As a secondary math teacher, I often wonder what happens before we get students in our classes, so I can meet them at their level and understanding. Would love to connect and see what elementary develops in students!
Keep running! Mental clarity and physical health are truly beneficial!
-Jennifer #2 # compelledtribe
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We have so many facets of ourselves, and I love how you’ve set your goals to address that! Striving to learn more and be better is a critical piece of being a great teacher – your students and colleagues are lucky to have you on their team. Looking forward to following your journey!
Dana
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I’ll second what Jennifer #1 and #2 said, thank you for connecting your instruction and goals to the secondary level.
Also thank you for possessing a vision that extends beyond your classroom. Far too often we lose that perspective as we become bogged down with what’s going on in our classrooms.
Congratulations on your running!
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